THE future of a new hospital whose backers claimed would finally modernise outdated West Wales healthcare was thrown into doubt last night, when planners refused to sanction the plans.

The £50m Bath House development would have seen a new “one stop shop” hospital and healthcare centre in Cardigan, as well as a supermarket and social housing, in what could have been one of the largest economic boosts in the town’s history.

The project’s developers, Liberty Mercian, have claimed the project would secure the town’s long-term prospects and bring 600 jobs to the town, while Hywel Dda NHS Trust chief executive Martin Turner said it would make Cardigan’s outdated healthcare provisions suitable for the 21st century.

But at a special meeting of Ceredigion County Council’s development control committee yesterday, members refused the application, primarily on the grounds that the development would have an unacceptably detrimental impact on the character, vitality and viability of the town. The reasons for the decision will be presented back to members at the committee’s next meeting on September 10.